“In the Gobi Desert, Sweetwater Oasis is no longer considered the territory of the sand bandits, but rather a buffer zone between the tribes and the bandits. It is also an important place for trade. Sweetwater Oasis is therefore also known as Sweetwater Market. However, further west from Sweetwater Oasis lies the trade route that crosses the entire Gobi Desert. In reality, this trade route is formed by a series of sand bandit groups that have ceded some supply points, especially water sources. Sand bandits generally do not station themselves on the trade route, at most leaving some people to maintain order... On the contrary, those small sand bandit gangs care about nothing except collecting money. Anyway, things like merchant caravans attacking each other, or tripping each other up, seem perfectly normal to them." Following beside Chi Lei, Tormu began to explain the distribution of power among the sand bandits in detail.

"Speaking of sand bandits, there have been several opportunities for them to unite from scattered gangs into a single country, or at least have some farming production and develop various resources. However, on the one hand, no sufficiently powerful force has emerged internally, and on the other hand, external forces do not allow it, and have always fueled the chaos in the Gobi. In the past, the northern grasslands themselves did not have many necessary consumables, let alone introduce any necessities to the Gobi through trade. Most of the salt and tea consumed in the Gobi comes from countries to the west and southwest. In this case, the other party needs a chaotic land trade route connecting east and west that is not controlled by anyone, so naturally there are various methods. It's simple why a large enough tribe can't emerge in the Gobi. The living conditions here are harsh, and there is constant infighting. Even the leaders of the larger forces are considered lucky to live to be fifty years old. ... If I had always lived in the Gobi, I definitely wouldn't have lived to this day. Once the leader of a force dies, it splits into several factions fighting each other, fighting over inheritance, and leaving with their subordinates. Anyway, as long as you can pull together a team, that's enough. Of course, you still have to rely on some large forces to survive, but at least it's not like there's no way out. In recent years, the Kuangsha Banner (Mad Sand Banner) and other large forces have increasingly strengthened their control over the trade route, and everyone's dependence on the trade route has become greater and greater, which has greatly reduced the speed of the birth and destruction of small tribes. Now, if you dare to rob casually, the first to strike will definitely be those big bandit gangs, who are even more dependent on the trade route..."

Listening to Tormu's calm narration, Chi Lei's eyes grew brighter and brighter. Tormu was indeed capable, not just a guide, but he painted a picture of the power structure in the Gobi Desert. The sand bandits certainly want to go south to obtain a fertile pasture, and those who have such thoughts are either small and medium-sized forces who do not live well in the current power structure, or large tribes who want to control one end of the trade in their own hands. Chi Lei also understood why they had no trust in each other, and the distance between the various troops was so far that it was difficult to support each other. If Chi Lei was not averse to attrition warfare, and had enough troop replenishment, Chi Lei might really be able to defeat them one by one and stand tall to the end. Naturally, the experienced general Chi Lei would also take advantage of this situation.

"Then what you said... what suggestions do you have for completely solving the problem?" Chi Lei asked casually.

Tormu said extremely seriously: "If your Excellency can guarantee part of the consumption of salt and tea on the Gobi Desert from the east, then this problem will actually be half solved. The current situation is that the closer you get to the east, the more difficult it is to obtain necessary things such as salt and tea. The first to respond to the initiative to create this trade route were the eastern bandit gangs. Although they could not guarantee that salt and tea would be imported, they could at least use the gains from the trade route to subsidize their huge expenses in salt, tea, and medicine, especially those good Yunzhou weapons that have been smuggled in in recent years, which have made the eastern bandit gangs much better off. But back then... the bandit gang I was in was destroyed for this reason. Our boss not only began to actively plan the trade route, wanting to transform the brothers from robbing merchant caravans to escorting merchant caravans, but also created some things in our territory that could be sold to the outside world in the merchant caravans. As a result, everyone became wary. The boss's movements were too big, and there were traitors among our group. Under internal and external attacks, only I escaped with some young lads."

Tormu's expression remained unchanged, as if he wasn't talking about his own affairs at all. He continued: "Import salt and tea, but try to control the inflow of various commodities, when the trade route cannot function normally. In order to survive, and to compete for limited living resources, the Gobi will inevitably become chaotic. Of course, this also requires a prerequisite, that is, this time, you must establish enough prestige, so that no one is confident that they can get any advantage in front of your military strength, and dare not covet the grassland in the near future."

"With the combat power of your Excellency's troops, it is naturally no problem to establish prestige. However, sweeping slowly along both sides of the trade route like this is really boring. If your Excellency allows, I suggest that you let me lead the army to attack a medium-sized bandit gang that is not very far from here, about... one hundred seventy or eighty *li*. Frankly speaking, the lair occupied by this bandit gang is the place where my original Jinmen Banner (Golden Gate Banner) was located. This bandit gang has a population of about 35,000 to 6,000 people. According to the proportion of combat personnel in the bandit gang, there are probably more than 10,000 cavalry. However, although your Excellency has superior strength, it is inevitable to pay some price to capture the lair that others have been operating for many years. Now, although this bandit gang is also called the Jinmen Banner, I think there are very few old people I know inside, and I am afraid that they will not be able to give your Excellency much help. However, the Jinmen Banner is a very important link in the chain of bandit gangs along the entire trade route. Tactically, it can also be called a key point. Capturing the Jinmen Banner can directly threaten the supply of most bandit troops preparing to go south. Although sand bandits have never paid attention to supplies, they can't live on sand after all. If you are lucky, the Jinmen Banner may have a lot of food and grass from other tribes stored up. But this also has advantages and disadvantages. As you know, everyone doesn't trust each other, so if there is a lot of stuff piled up, there will definitely be a lot of people stuffed in." Tormu introduced the current situation of the Jinmen Banner, which had nothing to do with him.

"Is that it?" Chi Lei curled his lips and asked somewhat indifferently.

Tormu was still expressionless, but what he said stunned Tanan, who had respected and admired Tormu for many years. Tormu said slowly: "Underground of the Jinmen Banner is the mausoleum of the grassland king of that year. Our boss discovered it back then. There are countless jewels of all kinds inside. I know your Excellency is not interested in this, but many people will be interested. Once the news spreads, those troops attacking in the front should come back to seize the treasure. Your Excellency, you can defeat them one by one. At this time, they will be even less likely to cooperate with each other."

"This is really a bit difficult... that kid Yi Lan will have a different status and status in the future, if we really do this. How will I face that little colleague in the future?" Chi Lei smiled, his face no longer so gloomy.

"That will be an excuse for Yi Lan to completely wipe out the hidden dangers in the Gobi Desert many years later. He can bring hundreds of thousands of troops and kill them in the name of revenge, killing them until the land is barren and not a single person is left alive. Those who are willing to keep their names will all be pulled back to the grassland. There will be so few people on this Gobi Desert that it will be impossible to recover for thirty to fifty years. Isn't this very good?" Tormu added: "Anyway, the sea trade route is in the hands of Ye Jinglue, so it doesn't matter if the trade route on the Gobi Desert is interrupted. Even if it is not interrupted, I think that showing the banner of the Ye family, or even showing the banner of someone related to the Ye family, can probably run rampant."

Tormu's way of thinking is indeed relatively dark. As for feasibility, although most of the time it is a test of the operating ability of the people who operate these things, it really cannot be said to be a very bad plan. Especially since Tormu himself was born as a sand bandit, he has his own understanding of the cowardice and courage of the sand bandits. After thinking for a while, although Chi Lei did not fully accept Tormu's statement, he also felt that it could be tried, and Chi Lei would naturally make some modifications.

"There should be no problem in capturing the Jinmen Banner. Anyway, I want to find someone to establish prestige. As for who I am looking for, it doesn't matter much, as long as I can eat it within the scope of losses that I can accept. I don't really care about the treasures you mentioned, but waiting for others to attack is a bit bad. I would rather stay still than defend in a place I don't know like the Jinmen Banner, and guard there with heavy equipment battalions. Anyway, Ye Jinglue won't ignore me no matter what. We might as well make a show of momentum and make use of the specific situation. To attract those guys who have been bypassed by us to return to fight, either the Jinmen Banner really has a lot of supplies piled up, or... we claim that we are going to transport some treasures back. We can play the scene of robbery and anti-robbery on the road. Here, I am really not afraid of being trapped. The eyes of the sand bandits are not as bright as mine." Chi Lei said casually. Tormu agreed deeply and bowed respectfully.

The smoke and dust in front rose sharply. Chi Lei glanced at it and nodded towards the soldiers around him. Many of these close guards who had followed Chi Lei for many years, and some had even followed him since the Blood Kirin Army era, knew him thoroughly. However, the guard who was instructed did nothing and shrugged. Another guy came up and reported: "The vanguard has engaged the enemy. A small enemy squad was hiding in the woods by the roadside, trying to avoid us, and was surrounded. The entire team of 317 people was completely annihilated. 109 people were captured. Seven of our people were slightly injured."

Chi Lei nodded with satisfaction and said, "Don't affect the marching speed."